1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to vehicular safety devices and more particularly to a system for use in a vehicle that allows an occupant, e.g., a child, to comfortably sleep in a semi-erect or upright position while wearing conventional lap and shoulder safety belts.
2. Description of Related Art
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) remain the leading cause of death in our nation, killing about 33 children ten years and under every week. Research has shown that serious injuries and fatalities can be prevented in MVCs with proper use of seat belts and child restraint devices. For example, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) U.S. Department of Transportation, child restraints have been shown to be 69 percent effective in reducing the risk of death to infants and 47 percent effective for children between the ages of one and four. Lap and shoulder belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and moderate to critical injury by 50 percent for passenger vehicle occupants who are older than 5 years. However, these restraint systems were developed using crash dummies that sit in perfectly upright positions. In the real world vehicle environment, passengers do not always sit facing forward and upright. It is inevitable that children will fall asleep in vehicles, especially on long car trips. Consequently, current restraint systems make sleeping very difficult and uncomfortable.
In addition, improper positioning of the seat belt compromises the effectiveness of the restraint system. If the shoulder strap is only used, a child can still slide out from under it and suffer head and neck injuries, while the lap belt alone would not protect the upper torso. Also a lap belt may ride up above the hips of a child, which may intrude into the soft abdomen and lacerate internal organs, as described in Winston, F., Durbin, D., xe2x80x9cBuckle Up! Is Not Enough. Enhancing Protection of the Restrained Child,xe2x80x9d Journal of the American Medical Association. 281:2070-2072 (1999). A poorly fitting seat belt can cause injury during impact because the crash-energy could be transferred to the body.
Various patents disclose vehicular safety systems for holding children in a seat structure to protect them. In particular, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,761 (Otto) there is disclosed a device having a resilient cushion including a horizontally disposed portion and a vertically disposed portion for disposition on the horizontal support surface of a vehicle""s seat and on the backrest of that seat, respectively. The device also includes a head rest.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,213 (Levy) there is disclosed a one-piece cushioned chair having plural restraint straps for holding the child on the chair. The chair is itself arranged to be held onto the seat of a vehicle by means of the vehicle""s seat belts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,056 (Koziatek et al.) there is disclosed a car seat for use in an automobile having a lap belt. The seat comprises an integral double wall molded shell and a restraint harness for holding a child in the seat. Slots are provided through a portion of the shell to accept the automobile lap belt to secure the seat onto automobile""s seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,339 (Heath) there is disclosed a container, for carrying an infant in a supine position, having an open top which is covered by a flexible cover of resilient perforate material, provided with seat belt retention means such that it can be retained to the rear seat of a vehicle having seat belts therein, and in the event of vehicle impact, an infant is supported over a large area of its body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,387 (Kain) there is disclosed a child carrier having a seat which may be attached and removed from a base. The base has a spring-loaded locking mechanism that automatically secures the seat in the base. The base and seat comprise an infant car seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,044 (Barley et al.) there is disclosed a child safety seat for use in a vehicle, comprising a seat body, and two S-shaped coupling arms, each of which is pivotally mounted at one end to the seat body below the front thereof and has a front releasable fastener on its other end for attachment to a front anchorage unit located below the front edge of a vehicle seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,293 (Coy et al.) there is disclosed a car seat for holding two children side-by-side. The car seat has a vertical divider to divide the seat into a first side and a second side, each having a seat cushion and a back cushion and a harness strap arrangement. The car seat is arranged to be located on a conventional seat in the vehicle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,749 (Reher et al.) there is disclosed an infant support seat and cushion having an inner support structure including a backrest and seat and base support member and having a removable cushion assembly. The cushion assembly has a back cushion section, a seat cushion section and a pair of side support sections. An outer cover is attached to the cushion assembly and has a release mechanism to permit the insertion and removal of the inner support structure relative to the cushion assembly. A crotch support strap and detachable belt sections hold the infant in the cushion assembly in use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,106 (Clark) there is disclosed a combination car seat and stroller which includes a carrier portion having a U-shaped handle with free ends thereof pivotally secured to a pair of side portions thereof. Each of the pair of side walls have slots formed therethrough to receive a car seat belt therethrough for securement of the carrier portion within a car. A collapsible stroller portion is dimensioned to receive the carrier portion thereon.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,397 (Czernakowski et al.) there is disclosed a child safety seat is adapted to rest on a vehicle seat and to be secured thereon by a vehicle seat belt. A traveler is provided which can be coupled to a tongue of a vehicle seat belt and then moved from one side of the child seat through the opening to the other side of the child seat so as to pull the seat belt through the opening to secure it on the vehicle""s seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,753 (Cone, II) there is disclosed an apparatus for supporting a child car seat on a vehicle seat having a seat belt. The apparatus includes a seat foundation that is adapted to lie upon the vehicle seat. The seat foundation includes a base with an upper surface that is adapted to receive the child car seat thereon, side walls that extend away from the upper surface, and a seatbelt mounting catch, which is positioned to lie in the upper surface in a location between the side walls. In addition, the seat foundation includes an auxiliary belt coupled to the base. The auxiliary belt is adapted to cooperate with the base to couple the child car seat upon the seat foundation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,156 (Chang) there is disclosed apparatus for helping a user rest and sleep while in a vertical sitting position on a seat by providing vertical and horizontal support to the user""s upper body and head. The apparatus is in the form of a vest that comprises one or more braces with flexible structure adapted to the user""s armpits, a portion of his/her upper body, his/her head, and a supporting frame being integral with a seat. Fastening means adjustable to the user""s height and size are provided. The braces, supporting frame and fastening means in combination continuously support the seated user""s upper body and head vertically and horizontally, to help him/her sleep in the vertical sitting position on a seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,565 (Rieder) there is disclosed a chair liner which can be used with car seats and which includes a back panel extending from a bottom edge to about head height of an infant, and two relatively thick arms projecting from the back panel to a front edge. The back panel preferably has a curbed top edge and the arms gradually taper inwardly from the back panel to the front edge. The arms and the back panel are of a one-piece construction. The liner has a washable fabric covering held on by a zipper that is easily opened to allow removal of the cover. The cover is machine washable and easily reinstalled.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,044 (Koyanagi et al.) there is disclosed a child seat formed of a main portion for holding a child having an engaging member, and a base on which the main portion is detachably mounted. The base has a connecting portion to be connected to a vehicle, and a fixing member to be engageable with the engaging member of the main portion. The base can be connected to the vehicle without the child seat main portion.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,312 (Yoshida et al.) there is disclosed a seating board which includes a board portion having a first surface on which an infant is to be seated, and a second surface on which a larger child is to be seated. The second surface is located on a side opposite to the first surface. Clamp arms are attached to the board portion for attaching the seating board to a seat portion of a child seat. When the seating board is detached from the child seat, the child seat is suitable for a child larger than the infant.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,949 (DaSilva) there is disclosed a child safety seat having a child seat hingedly mounted on a seat support for use in a vehicle. The child seat includes a seat portion and a back portion with interconnecting sides, pivotally mounted on a seat support, whereby the child seat can be pivoted in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction relative to the seat support. The arrangement is such that with the seat support centrally positioned on the rear seat of a vehicle, the child seat can be pivoted so that it is positioned adjacent to and facing the door opening of the vehicle to provide for maximum ease in placing a child in the child seat. The child seat also includes a harness to hold the child in place.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
While the devices and systems disclosed in the aforementioned patents appear generally suitable for their intended purposes, they leave much to be desired from the standpoint of enabling children of seatbelt age or adults to sleep comfortably in vehicles, while protecting them from being seriously injured in the event of a crash. It is to this end that the subject invention is directed.
In accordance with this invention, there is provided a comfort system for use in a motor vehicle having a conventional seat belt and a first seat including a backrest and a support surface. The comfort system is arranged to provide head, neck and upper torso support for an occupant, e.g., a child, to comfortably lean against while wearing the seat belt and sitting semi-erect on the support surface and against the backrest of the first seat. The comfort system is arranged to be located adjacent to and laterally of the first seat and comprises a base section, an upwardly directed section, and a first headrest
The base section extends outward in a direction generally parallel to the support surface and has a first padded side. The upwardly directed section extends generally parallel to the backrest and has a first padded side and a top end. The first padded side of the base section and the first padded side of the upwardly directed section are located on the same side of the system and laterally adjacent to the first seat. The first headrest comprises a padded member located on the first side of the upwardly directed section adjacent to the top end thereof and projects outward from the first side.
With this arrangement when the occupant, e.g., child, is seated on the first seat and wearing the seat belt the occupant may comfortably lean against the comfort system so that the occupant""s head engages the first headrest and at least a portion of the occupant""s upper torso engages the first side of the upwardly directed section.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention the comfort system comprises a unit that is arranged to be releasably mounted to the vehicle laterally of the seat, e.g., to be releasably secured by means of the conventional LATCH system. Moreover, that unit has two sides, each of which is padded and constructed like the other so that the unit can be mounted in the middle seat of the vehicle between to laterally located seats, whereupon a occupant can be seated on either of those laterally located seats wearing a seat belt and leaning against the side of the unit.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention the comfort system the vehicle includes a middle seat having a backrest and a support surface, with the middle seat being located laterally adjacent to the first seat. In this embodiment the system forms a portion of the middle seat of the vehicle, e.g., is built into the middle seat with the upwardly directed section being built into and extendable from the backrest of the middle seat, and with the base section being built into and extendable from the support surface of the middle seat.